01/28/08 The Lofty Cupcake

Muffin, cookie, cupcake,&.funny how we have come to use desserts for terms of endearment and with Valentines day right around the corner, bakeries are banking on the fact that we won't just be calling our loved "sweet names" we will serving them up and chances are a majority of our purchases will be cupcakes. With the Crispy Crème era passé the next bakery phenomena is the cupcake. Cupcake shops are sprouting up worldwide from Japan to Australia and are thriving in most major US cities. With names like "Sprinkles" new bake shops regard the 1950's classroom staple as a logical step up for a nation of muffin lovers. One retailer admits to selling four thousand cupcakes a month priced from $1.50 to $3.00 and believes the tiny cake trend will just keep exploding. Another baker cites the fact a cupcake is about creativity, they can be mini works of art with a variety of fillings flavors and frosting detail. Life is like that box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get! This Valentines it might just be a cupcake!